Afterglow: A YOI Story
by veronaleft
Summary: Summary: Viktor Nikiforov moves back to St. Petersburg after winning his fifth GPF gold medal and discovering the stressors of his life. What he gets from doing this is meeting a very handsome mermaid, learning of the mystical Rotsevenkova Island, and wondering if true love exists... *inspired by lucycamui's and crimsonchains story A Siren's Call**
1. Chapter 1

Afterglow: A YOI Story:

Prologue

The applause was deafening.

No, deafening was an understatement. The applause was thunderous, gigantic. It could probably be heard from several towns over. In fact, it was so loud that Viktor's ears started to ring. And standing on the podium on the ice was the one place all of the noise went straight towards.

Right then, Viktor felt incredibly proud of himself. He had just won the Grand Prix Final for the fifth time, which would undoubtedly go on some record. His career was a mountain, and Viktor was right at the top, soaring freely. With this he could finally relax for a while, ground himself upright. He could be something new.

At least, that's what he thought at first. Standing on that podium with all the people screaming and the reporters asking questions and him trying not to pass out from all that was happening. He thought that his life would become slightly easier, at least for a little bit. But that was for the near future. Right there he had to do something else. And that was interviews.

When he won his first competitions as a young boy in Russia, he loved doing interviews. Telling his fans how good he felt about everything, answering questions from his followers. It felt nice to be considered by so many people. But now, when he was 27 and much older, he felt weary doing another one. It had gotten old quickly over the years. Now to him it was seen as simply a slight nuisance.

The first question was simple: "How are you feeling?" Viktor replied with a quick word about pride and feeling accomplished. The second question was a bit trickier: "What are your future plans?" Viktor honestly didn't know the answer. He stuttered something fast about new programs, before settling into a cold sweat. He felt off all of a sudden. Like something was going to happen. The reporter kept asking him questions, though, and he tried to answer as best as he could. However, he could not shake the bad feeling from his mind yet. It was sticking around, it seemed. The next question he didn't even hear or acknowledge. He found himself in something like a trance.

What he was so mesmerized by he later told himself was probably nothing but a trick of his mind. But he didn't really believe himself at all. He knew that what he saw could only be real.

The door leading outside was wide open, letting the setting sun stream colors into the skating rink. In the sky were pink and orange clouds, all covering the surface with bronze and blue accents. It would've been quite a sight if he wasn't indoors, in a giant freezing abyss filled with clapping and screaming and endless questions. But below it was quite literally something he thought was even more gorgeous: standing beneath the sunset was a man. Shorter than him by a few inches. Wearing a black hoodie. And pulling the hood DOWN.

His eyes were the first things Viktor looked at. They were colored cinnamon and hazel by the lighting, and went well with his midnight hair. His skin was pale and shaded by the sun, giving his whole body this sort of weird glow. On the bridge of his nose sat some half-rimmed blue glasses. The man's limbs would seem (at first) like they had nothing on them. Sort of... flimsy. But upon closer inspection you could see that he was muscular underneath those clothes that were meant to hide something.

Viktor jaw nearly dropped, before he remembered that that picture would not look good on a grocery store tabloid counter. So he sat simply and stared, catching the gaze of the man outside. They looked straight at one another for a small moment, before the mysterious one pulled his hood back up and bolted away. He was gone by the time Viktor blinked again.

Behind him, the reporters stared at him oddly. They asked him what was wrong. They asked him all manner of inquiries.

But Viktor could only think of one.

Who... was that?


	2. Chapter 2

Afterglow: A YOI Story: Chapter 1

Give Me A Reason

Two Months Later...

Viktor's breath hitched.

Standing before him was St. Petersburg, Russia. The place that was his hometown, where he grew up. He had been so busy with skating he'd barely had time to visit. But now that he was back home... he could discover it all over again.

He'd forgotten what the place looked like, almost. The place where he would run about with his best friends, giggling and imagining. Or at least, that's what he always daydreamed about.

Viktor grew up solitary. He always wondered why the kids around him avoided him, bullied him. Often times after classes he would find one of his exam papers missing from his locker, or cruel notes scrawled out in ugly pen all over his backpack. Viktor, over time, got used to it. He knew that that was a bad thing, of course. You shouldn't be used to people bullying you. But it wasn't until later when he figured out why everyone despised him so much.

From an early age, Viktor realized he was gay. There wasn't any doubt in his mind. He was supposed to see women as one of his future wives, but instead he looked the other way. He never had a thing for a girl. Always guys. And, as being raised as a boy in a Catholic household and school, he came out to his mother.

Alisa Nikiforov was horrified.

Immediately after learning this new information, she phoned Viktor's father, Alexei Nikiforov. Alexei was clearly distraught, seeing as his own son was unholy in that way. He had rumbled down the street to his home and given his son a firm talking-to. He wasn't to tell anyone. Ever. Not for any reason at all. Otherwise their whole family would be shunned for this great sin.

But something was bound to slip out. He kept his secret hidden well for a couple of years, before knowing he just couldn't keep it in anymore. So he told one of his friends at school. It was so casual, like anything else happening then. And the rumors spread like wildfire. No wonder everyone avoided him. But he didn't mind. Just by taking one look at the toxic children around him he knew he wouldn't want to be near them anyways. The ways they tormented him should tell you enough of that.

So Viktor was gay. That was true. It was probably the only real thing he knew about himself, and he stuck to his story. He told anyone who asked, because really, what did it matter in the end?

But now...

Nostalgia washed through and through him. He was remembering all the fun he'd had in St. Petersburg, the times where he learned lessons. It's a great experience, that. Seeing something you haven't seen in so long, and knowing how much it affected your life later. Viktor was glad for that privledge. But as he strolled up the front sidewalk of his house, his REAL house, he only felt a little bit scared. Scared to walk in after so long. He feared that someone or something might be waiting for him there. But no. That couldn't happen, because his parents had gone already long ago.

Viktor unlatched and latched his front gate, carrying his various bags with him. People passed by him on the street without taking any notice of the man, and for that Viktor was glad. These days it was not unusual to see someone coming back to St. Petersburg. Everyone wants to see their birthplace again at least once. But for Viktor's case, this would be the place he would spend all his time, trying to figure out what the hell to do with his life now.

Pushing the key into the lock, rotating it, and pulling it back out seemed a bit too complicated right then. Viktor was simply too nervous. He had to confront every event that had happened there, including the Peter Incident... and that wasn't very pretty. At least, not for Peter. But anyways, as the door flew open and the smell of must hit him, his fears were alleviated.

He suddenly remembered how good it felt to be in this huge house alone, how he always got so excited when his parents were out. He would always do the things his strict parents never allowed (for what he thought were stupid reasons) like bolting through the hallways as fast as he could. He'd slide down the banister on his butt and expect not to crash into the foyer, but always did. And most of all, he'd play with his siamese cat, Elese. When Viktor had turned 8, he learned that he couldn't play with her anymore because of some newfound allergies. But whenever his parents were out he would always sneak her out of his mother's office and run about. That was a good time to remember. Viktor smiled involuntarily at those thoughts, and took a good look at the place.

Stepping inside, Viktor could see that it remained almost exactly the same as it was in his memory. Wooden, polished floors, windows spotless (but now covered with some cobwebs) the walls still colored a blatant white. The staircase still made out of that rich mahogany, with the sleek banister running down it. To his right was the kitchen, it's doorway in an arc, and all of the old dining chairs and table still there. It was almost shocking how much of it was left. Even that super old oven they had used. But it was there. And that made Viktor hopeful.

Standing right in front of him was the elegant staircase, which he would always stumble down whenever there were visitors. It led up to the second floor, where all the bedrooms were. To his left was another arc leading straight into the living room. A stone fireplace adorned the wall, and Viktor remembered several years of sitting around the fire, listening to stories and chatting. The couches and pillows were even there, decorating Viktor's delight of finding everything perfectly intact. Honestly, he didn't expect everything to be there. It awoke many memories in him. He had expected the entire place to be old, rusty and empty. But he supposed when his parents passed that they had wanted their son to remember things.

Beyond the fireplace was the storage room, then the downstairs bathroom. Man, Viktor had nearly forgotten how large this place was. He stared at the fire pit, considering. Then, grabbing a piece of wood from the storage area, he dropped it into the fireplace. And, if he was right...

Behind one of the rocks surrounding the fireplace was an emergency lighter, that he had left there as a young boy. He might have needed to light it in the future. Using that, he quickly lit a small fire in the hearth.

Viktor smiled, satisfied. The warmth of the fire felt good on his skin, and his eyes drooped a little. Watching it was a bit mesmerizing, and jet lag suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks. Not only did he have to take a 10 hour flight from California, where he was visiting some relatives, he also had to drop Makkachin off at the vet immediately after he got off the plane. He was worried he wouldn't exactly be able to take care of her in her current condition, since he had to unpack many things. Also, he needed to pick up her medication. But he would have to do all of that later. Now, he was simply marvelling at everything in his childhood home.

Sluggish and drowsy, Viktor flopped down on the old, musty couch (which he would definitely have to clean later) and quickly fell asleep.

Hours later, as Viktor awoke, he got the sense that he had better actually made some sense of unpacking. He still had to undo the piles of packages that would arrive in the mail in the next couple of days, unpack his bags of nessecities, and simply get used to everything again. He felt odd being in a house he could truly call his own, if it was only for about a year. He'd spent so much time travelling around, and he never felt as if he belonged anywhere. So this was good.

Reaching out to his phone and checking the time, he saw that it was 8 P.M., and he really shouldn't have slept that long. But he didn't mind. He just needed a nap then. He had some much-needed cleaning to do, and had to sit and adjust. The fire had probably grown quite large at some point; it now burned down low and not much heat was coming from it anymore. Sighing, Viktor picked himself up and started making a list of things to do in the house. If he put his mind to things, he could do them without one. But being jetlagged and feeling slightly nauseous, he made a list so he didn't become severely confused about what to do.

First of all, he had to wash the windows of their disgusting spiderwebs, which was incredibly unpleasant. What Viktor hated probably the most was gross, spindly spiders, with their long grotesque legs that stretched so far over everything and their unpleasant markings that could tell you if they were poisonous or not and the ominous webs they would make to capture unsuspecting prey and they would eat them alive and wrap them and- that was enough. You get it. Viktor hated spiders. But as he cleared away the webs he couldn't help but feel just a small tinge of emptiness.

As he finished the windows he could now clearly see the sun setting over the horizon. The air of winter made the sky so much lighter than in Spring or Summer, so hues of orange and blue stretched across St. Petersburg. Viktor was surprised there was even a sunset today; it was getting very cold now. It would probably snow soon, and cover the streets with freezing sleet. Viktor had come prepared though, since he grew up in this very spot. He brought his warmest clothes that he had bought from around the world, and would definitely have to use them sometime. Staring out the window, a gust of chilled wind flying through it, he felt a strange sense of... home.

Several Days Later

Viktor had spent the rest of his week walking all throughout his neighborhood again. The weather, as Viktor had predicted, had turned incredibly cold very fast, and snow had quickly piled up on the streets. The wind had become so chilly that every time people took a breath it felt like you were swallowing winter itself, and many people stayed inside to relax instead of walk about. But not Viktor. He was too busy exploring his hometown all over again, and all that walking was exhausting. Every day when he returned home his eyes would droop just a bit more. At the same time, however, he would just feel more energized for the days ahead.

Today, for his agenda, he would visit Laskovvy beach, which was mostly deserted. It was winter. Nobody wanted to see a giant snowdrift on sand. Except Viktor. Walking beyond the beach area and into a secluded cove, which he and his cousin had discovered as children, Viktor realized he could probably sit and rest a while. All around him were the naked trees of St. Petersburg, and below him fresh snow from the night before. The cove was tiny compared to Laskovvy, but he enjoyed it's company nonetheless. Stretching far out on the horizon was the Gulf of Finland. This time of year the water's color was like a stale blue, which meant it would probably freeze your fingers off if you tried to poke it. Which Viktor didn't. It would be bad luck if he visited the hospital on only the end of the first week back home. But probably hilarious to some of his friends and family. At that thought Viktor had to give a small sigh, and sat down on the new snow. He was still very confused. He had no idea what he was going to do with his life just yet, and an odd feeling of sadness covered his mind.

What was he going to do...?

Viktor flipped out his phone and stared at it's blue screen. He had put a photo of Makkachin and an unfortunate incident on it as the screensaver. By unfortunate incident, Makkachin had gotten into some of the blue paint Viktor was using to cover up some accidental (and also non-accidental) marks he had made on Yurio's skates after Yurio gave him the finger one time. Needless to say neither of them were pleased, and Makkachin ended up covered in way too much paint for one day. Viktor smiled as he remembered those times, a slight chuckle escaping from his lips. Closing his eyes within the moment, as the frozen breeze flew across him, a small splash came from far away.

Sploosh.

Viktor ignored the first one.

Splooooooshh.

Viktor's eyes twitched.

Splooooooooooooooshhh... sploooooshhhhh.

Viktor's eyes were yanked open in only slight irritation. He was trying to remember some of the happier times, before he had moved back home by himself. Why hadn't he just come with someone? It wouldn't have been so lonely then. But as he stared out at the waters, nothing seemed to had made that noise.

"Hm."

Viktor closed his eyes again, feeling so drowsy all of a sudden.

Splooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooosh!

This time when the noise came Viktor's eyes immediately shot open and he flew upwards, trying to find the cause. The only piece of evidence was a small ripple of water about 30 feet from the shore, coming toward him ever so slowly. Like ripples of water do. Viktor laughed a bit to himself. Why did he shoot up like that? There wasn't anything there. But this time, he didn't sit back down. He simply picked up his phone and got ready to leave once again. Dusting the snow off his pants and trying not to freeze to death, he turned around to go when he heard the loudest splash yet.

SPLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSHHHHHHHHHH!

And suddenly Viktor found that he wasn't exactly standing anymore. Nope. He was on the snow, with something large holding his legs down to the ground. The breath was knocked out of him, and as he turned back around to see what the actual fuck was causing this, shock covered his face.

It was a beautiful monster.

A mermaid.


	3. Chapter 3

Afterglow: A YOI Story: Chapter 2

Probably Just A Dream

Warning: This chapter includes "discussions" of assault that may be triggering. (I don't know))

Viktor's eyes fluttered open, his head pounding with pain. God. This was the third time this week.

He was lying on his side on the bare linoleum floor, some of the tiles streaked with dried blood. His. How long had he been out? Besides that, fresh bruises were beginning to blossom among his arms, proof of what had happened to him. Another person that hated the fact he was gay. Another person to smack him down every other day.

Viktor sighed heavily, trying to sit up, but failing. It seems that they had really gotten all of his body, his limbs all scraped up. Finally after a few tries he managed to sit upright, and he got a good look at himself. He wished he had better lighting, but the sun was setting, putting bronze shades of light into the empty classroom. Viktor was starting to remember the events that had occurred hours before. Most of his memory was hazy... which probably meant he would just remember the traumatic events later. But again, he was used to it. He didn't need to make a big deal out of it. It was almost like a routine.

As he stood up, he saw that his whole classroom was in disarray. The chalkboard covered in random, crude marks, the teacher's desk riddled with papers and pencils. Some of the desks had even been knocked over, his own a victim. Hobbling closer to his desk, he saw it was colored with swears and remarks against him. He would have to clean that up later, but right now he had to find his backpack and get home. His mother would be upset if he was late. But Viktor seriously didn't remember anything that had happened, and the messy classroom was a complete mystery to him. He couldn't really focus on anything, either. He stumbled over the various objects on the floor. Way back in the corner of the room, where the teacher's desk was, his backpack stood high on top of a chair. It wasn't open, but zipped up, and nothing seemed to have been taken out of it. Except Viktor saw something... covering it.

As he tripped over to where it was to get a better look, his eyes widened in horror. Viktor's backpack was covered in blood.

As he started to question whose it was, he suddenly felt a sharp stab of pain in his arm. Staring down at his wrinkled, bloodied clothes, he unrolled his sleeve on his right arm to see an ugly cut across his wrist.

They... were that serious?

They hated him that much, that they would try to do that? That?

Viktor felt foolish as the realization dawned on him. They had tried to kill him. Then covered his backpack in his own blood.

That was when Viktor came to know the cruelty of the world.

Cold.

Viktor was cold. That was the only thought he had.

Like 14 years ago, he was once again lying on his side. But this time, not in blood. In snow. And he didn't know how long he'd been there.

He looked down at his wrists. No. No blood there. Just slight scars, and pale, freezing skin. He would've given a sigh of relief, but he found that he couldn't. His throat couldn't emit those noises. All that he could do was sit and give a slight whimper. His side was hurting, struck by something. Viktor gingerly moved his hands to find the source, but was met by something soft.

Trying to flip over, he realized he was still at the small cove. And he had most likely been out for only about 20 minutes. The sky didn't look any different. But as he sat up, he noticed the thing next to him. A... body.

Viktor gasped so loud that he ended up just scaring himself more. He scrambled away from the figure, snow flying through the air. As he moved further away from it, he began to remember this feeling in his heart. Fear, like from his childhood. He had no idea what had just happened, and he didn't even know if that person was alive or not. Just... laying there. Stiff.

Viktor realized that he should probably go and help them eventually. He couldn't just leave that person there to freeze to death. So, gathering up courage and fighting back some relived trauma, he creeped closer to the person. His fingers felt nearly numb as he approached, so he jammed his hands in his pockets before examining them.

Oh. What he had touched had been their hair, which was a sleek, jet black. They had just been sleeping together on the beach for probably about half an hour or so, and Viktor felt stupid to not have woken up sooner. Covering their body with a white sheen was a fresh row of snow. Trying not to rouse them and yet also clean off their skin, Viktor quietly brushed the snow off of them.

What he expected to see was the person's pale skin, chilled to the touch. What he got was something more than a surprise. A thought, that spread across his mind rapidly and completely overcame him. A memory. Of before he woke up. Of dark blue scales that faded into lighter shades of blue as they traced upwards.

And then he remembered. It was scales of a folk tale, that people never really believed in. The scales of the creature that would supposedly drag you off the shores, to drown you in it's waters. That would befriend you quickly, telling stories of how much it longed for a "companion", before killing you. Of course, not all of them were that insane. Just... most. Viktor had grown up with probably the most superstitious grandparents out there, so he knew what these beasts brought people. He never believed it. But now... he could hear everything they told him rushing through his head like a waterfall.

"Never get too close. Or they'll already have you."

When he remembered that, he just stood still. He didn't know what to do, and was still in shock that something this... ridiculous was happening. However, Viktor slowly started to calm down a bit. And then realize that he was most likely dreaming. Why would there be a mermaid, of all things, on a frozen beach in Russia? He felt incredibly stupid all of a sudden, simply sitting down next to the body and sighing. If this was a dream, then it was pretty vivid for the kinds he had every other night. Those ones were always so blurry, he could barely see a thing. He always knew who was there with him. They consisted of wisps of color and ideas, never forming a comprehensive thought. Then he would wake up, always covered in sweat. Sometimes his eyes would be swollen from crying. He never knew what they meant. If they were nightmares, then what exactly had happened? Later on, when Viktor looked back upon this event, he realized he should have known that this type of dream after those ones was completely unnatural. However, his mind had been pretty scattered since coming back home. He felt more disoriented than ever. And now slightly hopped up on adrenaline.

Viktor realized he couldn't really remember the evenAll he could see on the body was their head, and slight patches of their chest through the snow. He had no idea how they'd been covered so heavily in it. But as he looked up from the figure, he realized it was snowing, and coming down quickly. Quietly, but quickly. That meant he had to get out of there with them before anything drastic happened. He wouldn't want to leave someone just laying out on a snowy beach, regardless of whether or not it was a dream. So, trying to hurry, Viktor slid the snow off of them, preparing to rouse them. "Hey, are you-"

He stopped, too awestruck to say anything. He was staring at the bare chest of a man, one that as muscular and toned. His arms and torso were chiseled... proof of him working on himself. Or doing some other activity. His midnight hair covered his pale face, but Viktor could see hushed pink lips underneath it. They were moving slightly, whispering tiny words. Viktor leaned closer to him, trying to listen, but failing. He had stopped. Instead, the man started to groan in his sleep, saying tiny fragments of words now. Viktor couldn't make any sense of it anymore, and leaned back. Brushing the rest of the rest of the snow revealed something that Viktor would never forget.

It was the sight of a mermaid's tail, a dark navy blue. At the tip of his tail was the darkest color of blue; but as you glanced up his "legs" you could see that the colors got into lighter shades as they went upwards. His scales had a magnificent sheen of water on them from the melted snow. And suddenly Viktor wondered how any of this had happened. He had now fully exposed a mermaid on a frozen beach on the Gulf of Finland, and that would make for one helluva story to tell. Getting curious, Viktor gingerly touched his scales. He thought they would be cold. Instead, as he examined them, he realized that they were... warm. That didn't make any sense. He leaned back to the man's chest, trying to listen to his heart. Beating. But still weird. How did he-

"How long are you going to stare?" a voice asked him.

Startled, Viktor flung his head away from the body and his eyes widened with pure shock. The mermaid was awake. And staring at Viktor with a glare. "How did you manage to capture me, you filthy human?"

Viktor thought it was odd that he felt a bit hurt from that. "I didn't do anything to "capture" you," Viktor said casually. He still thought this was just some freaky dream. "and I really don't remember how you got here." Viktor stood up, brushing snow from his coat and getting ready to leave. The mermaid now had a surprised look on his face. "What?" Viktor inquired.

"Why aren't you trying to hurt me? I must be some precious wonder to your kind..." The man's head lolled back onto the ground, and his eyes seemed glassy. He simply stared at the overcast sky. "What are you-" Viktor was interuppted. "Shh. I'm trying to remember... and I thought for sure you would've left by now, since you seem to be incredibly oblivious..." The mermaid's eyes seemed to trace figures of thought across the clouds, and Viktor was just silently watching him. He started to think that this whole event was getting REALLY weird for a "dream", and he began to question some things. Like, why did his fingers feel like they were about to fall off? Why was he at this beach? And most of all, what the fuck was happening? He was just starting to wonder if this was even actually a dream or not when the mermaid sat up, glancing up at him without a glare. Kind of... innocent now.

"How long have I been sleeping, human?" The mermaid stared across the frigid Gulf now, his eyes seeming to try to search for something. It was then when Viktor realized the color of his eyes. They gave him a nostalgic feeling, like he'd seen them before... they were that same beautiful cinnamon brown. In the light of day they gave this odd sparkle of ambition. Viktor could feel a slight blush creeping over his cheeks. He didn't know why. He was just staring at the mermaid for a bit. Realizing that this man before him was actually just...

Really hot.

This time when he spoke, Viktor stumbled over his words a bit. "Well... I-I don't know... I j-just woke up with y-ou b-y my side and everything... uh..." At that moment Viktor had the slight temptation to say, "Come here often?" with some weird seductive face. But he resisted in both the knowledge that nobody would find that attractive and that he hadn't really ever had a real boyfriend. A lot of this interaction between them was just Viktor staring at this hot dude, and the hot dude being the oblivious one. The mermaid was still looking at something, trying to think, when he suddenly seemed to hit some sort of realization. He muttered something under his breath, too quiet for Viktor to hear. But around them, the snow was beginning to pile up. Viktor was starting to just tire of being here with this weird creature, honestly, and hoped that he would wake up soon. He had a bad feeling about all of this. Turning around to go, Viktor felt slightly shocked when he felt a hand on his wrist holding him back. "Wait, human. I must ask you something first."

Viktor turned his head a bit. "Oh?"

"Yes." The mermaid gave Viktor a dead stare. "You do know that you're not actually dreaming, right?"

And with that, Viktor passed out on the snowy beach.

"Alisa. Please... don't go. I need you here-Viktor needs you here!"

My wife was still packing her things, shoving them into a small suitcase. She chuckled, but it was heartless. "'Please'? Honestly, what am I going to do with you? You knew that I would go if they got bad enough, and they did. So I'm leaving. And you won't be able to stop me."

Alisa crammed what seemed to be the last object in her possession into that bag before immediately zipping it up. She was moving faster than I'd ever seen her. Clearly she was in a desperate situation.

She yanked her bag off of our bed before flinging it onto the ground. Nearly sprinting towards the door to leave, I blocked it with my body. "I can't let you leave, dear. You're making a mistake." To that my wife just gave me a glare of hatred. "I told you! You were supposed to keep him in check! And he told everyone! I can't be here when I have no point for living except to be mocked by who I thought were my friends because my son can't just keep his mouth goddamn shut! No, wait, my own HUSBAND can't even do that!" Alisa pushed past me, rushing into the hallway. As she reached the foyer she reached for her coat on the wall, pulled it on, and prepared to go. With her hand on the door handle I yelled out my final words of effort:

"Wait! I think there's one reason to make you stay!" From behind me I heard feet shuffling out into the hallway. Viktor.

Alisa simply turned her head back slightly, a smirk curving her lips. "Oh?"


	4. Chapter 4

Afterglow: A YOI Story:

Chapter 3: Cinnamon

When Viktor woke, he felt like he hadn't actually woken up yet.

Which made sense, because he was awake... but also not really. He was aware of things, could see the darkness. But at the same time, he knew that he was also asleep.

At that time, he started wondering if a lot of people have odd dreams like that often. Just... in the middle of reality and nightmares. Even though Viktor felt slightly unsettled at that thought, since he knew he was also there, he felt a bit comforted as well. Sometimes it was just better to be asleep than awake. At least at night, humans have a sort of weird escape from the real world. No matter how horrifying it can get for them sometimes. Here, in his own little headspace, it was strangely warm... almost nostalgic. Like most dreams are. Confusing jumbles of memory and thought that only really come together in a sensical matter about half the time. Here, in his own mind, Viktor didn't have to really think about anything. Just that he was asleep.

But eventually, even though this place was nice, Viktor knew he would have to wake up sometime. Otherwise he would just wake up later. Usually to wake up from dreams all he had to do was think about waking until he did. It was simple like that. Instead, however, when he was here, he couldn't seem to wake up. He was... stuck in his own head. He could feel his body moving in reality-he could feel the soft touch of sheets, the smell of must. But somehow, he knew that he wasn't in his bedroom. Viktor knew that he was... somewhere else.

What had happened the day before...?

Before Viktor could even try and think about it, he could see the dream's darkness starting to fade. He could see light shining through some windows behind him. As he finally woke up he got one last flash of thought across his mind: the image of the most beautiful brown eyes he had ever seen.

They were like a doe's, all warm and soft. So innocent and inviting, like a good memory on someone's face. Hazel. They reminded Viktor of a holiday somehow. And before Viktor knew it, he was awake.

But not in his own bedroom, like he thought.

Instead, he was laying on his old bed, from childhood. In his old room. The room that had been completely locked shut after he moved out, supposedly never to be opened again. But now, Viktor was hit with a wave of memories. Dust had settled on everything in there. His feet were just barely at the edge of his bedframe, like when he was a teen. The same homemade quilts covered his sheets. And his curtains were still a pasty white. The sun was setting far in the horizon now, and Viktor guessed it was about 6 P.M. It sounded right for a winter spent in Russia. The sun always set before you even got home, so you'd go home shrouded in darkness. Like his dream was.

Viktor sat up in his old bed, sighing. Even though he was home and well, something didn't feel right. And his feeling was confirmed when he felt a slight draft coming in from his left. Where his bedroom door was, sitting wide open. A direct view of the foyer and stairs stood before him. Which meant... how did he get in here? What exactly had happened?

Or... who had been in his house?

Viktor then vaguely realized he couldn't remember anything from the day before.

Except the cinnamon eyes.

Even while Yuuri was a whopping kilometer away from his home, he could still hear the faint wailing of Mari as he approached it. All around him, the freezing waters of the Gulf stung his skin. That was why he much preferred summer over winter. Autumn was usually okay, until it got so cold many of his kind could barely move around anymore. That was one of the few irritating things about living here.

It could also get pretty crowded.

The Mermaid Alliance had begun only about a century ago, which didn't really stretch that far into their overall history. Many were still getting used to the whole idea. But nobody had actually protested it yet, because it brought everyone together.

Thousands of years ago, people only knew of mermaids as being an unusual sight. Trade ships and merchants and great thieves only spoke of them when they saw one, as talking about them was seen as "bad luck". Usually mermaids were only seen for the smallest second. A flash of pure beauty and fascination to the lucky ones. But before those lucky ones could even comprehend it, they were gone. They preferred to keep to themselves, obviously. They didn't want to be hurt. So everyone was told to only observe, not act. Until...

Several centuries ago, there was a great thief named JJ.

People didn't dare speak of him anywhere, since he was so notorious they often thought that if they did their houses would be next. He was known for his crimes across the oceans, and for his great abundance of treasures. Often people would only see JJ for a few seconds, because he could run away from a scene faster than anyone else. And he was also known for what he had to resort to just to get away.

There were several times that the scene of his crimes would also be riddled with blood, evidence of just how wanted he was. The bodies of his victims were found usually at the scene or in the most conspicous places possible. He wanted to be caught. Wanted to be thrown in jail. But nobody could ever catch him. There was a time when JJ eventually realized that people were terrified of him... except he felt he needed to do even MORE. Cause destruction across his hometown and all other cities, so he would always be known there. So, he learned of one species that wouldn't be afraid of him: the mermaids. His great heist was to kill one.

But if you look down their rocky path a few centuries, you can see what transpired then.

After learning of the mermaid's death, the mermaids immediately went into hiding for hundreds of years, occasionally some of their kind going missing. And then found dead by the humans. So when the mermaids say they hate humans, they have some good reasons to. The Altins are basic proof of all the events that had occurred.

Yuuri thought that the Gulf of Finland was crowded now only because of what the Mermaid Alliance meant. The handful of their kind all "immigrating" to the Gulf so all of them could be protected by others. It was supposed to be harmonic, but instead people still disliked it, despite all of its pros. Even Yuuri didn't like the fact that literally everyone lived here now, all bumping outside awkwardly while they swam around. As Yuuri was travelling to his family home he saw about 13 mermaids... compared to ancient times you probably wouldn't even see one for that distance. It was rare to find one of your own out there. So, as he stepped into the small cave that he had lived in all his life, he tried not to be too loud. Here, the whining was loudest. And had probably been going on for the past day and a half.

Each home a mermaid takes is special. They will find a convinient place to live, and immediately mold it into their own. They often use their own abilities to form a comfortable living space, but other times they employ the help of other mermaids so they won't have to use up too much energy. In Yuuri's case, his family's house was absolutely covered in bookshelves. Papers and small vials of ink and maps adorned the entirety of the walls. They had archives of histories, evidence of their unique past, stories of other civilizations. That made his family members and himself simply a living, breathing information archive. But also a pretty messy person in general. The state of his house in total was proof of that. So, walking into his house again wasn't really much of a surprise. It was still gross. But he wouldn't really change it, either. It seemed... homely somehow.

Oxygen filled his lungs when he swam through the doorway, his mermaid tail immediately transforming into human legs. He could feel the blast of air warm hit him, and his legs wobbled beneath him. He wasn't used to this arrangement just yet. But his father, Toshiya, insisted that it was better to become used to being a human, in case he needed to be. But Yuuri still hated the feeling of it regardless. He preferred being able to swim freely than having these silly-looking... twigs for movement. In the so-called "foyer", he immediately pulled on the clothes he had left there before going out: a sweater he had inadvertently stolen from a human on the beach and a pair of sweatpants he'd found in a Dumpster. Probably not a very sanitary place to find human clothing, but it was rare around here. And since Toshiya was doing all this to really study human behaviors, it didn't really matter where they found it anyways. They just wanted more information on humans, so their family would always be known as the mermaid archivists. Knowledge was practically in their blood.

Inside of their home was much warmer than outside, and Yuuri quickly adjusted to the environment. Around him were all their dusty furnitures and books, pieces of broken pencils and piles upon piles of empty ink vials. Most of the bookshelves and seating areas were made by Mari, who had a certain knack for that kind of thing... but speaking of Mari...

Yuuri finally figured out why Mari was whining that loudly from that far away when she came bolting from the library and deliberately crashed into Yuuri.

"Now THAT was for totally ruining my relationship with Sara, you asshole!"

Yuuri had been tackled to the floor, his glasses swiped at and his sister nearly growling at him. He stared at Mari for probably a full 20 seconds before eventually realizing his mistakes.

Ah.

He'd forgotten that she was the reason that he'd crashed onto that beach in the first place. He had accidentally told Mari's crush, Sara, that Mari liked her, and Mari had been listening around the corner. Without knowing it, Yuuri had been chased around by Mari for about 10 minutes whilst he travelled home, until he realized that she was catching up... and then, much like a few seconds ago, he had been practically tackled onto the beach.

And then passed out. Hence Mari tackling him now. Huh.

"Oh." Yuuri said casually, pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "Didn't know. Sorry-" Mari started screeching at him before he could half-ass an apology he didn't mean. He was getting a bit sick of her swooning over Sara every ten seconds anyways. But he felt bad for ruining it. He obviously did not mean to. He stared at Mari straight in the eyes while she yelled at him with words so rapid he could barely understand anything. "IlikedherandIdidntknowifshelikedmeandiwasgonnaconfessandallandyouruineditandohmygodohmygodohmygoddddddddddwhyyoudothistomeeeeeeeeeee!" Yuuri chuckled nervously, about to apologize again before he heard the soft patter of feet coming from across the room.

"Now, now. Don't fight. Yuuri said he was sorry."

His mother, Hiroko, was standing in the doorway to her office. Her smile was gentle and kind as always, although a bit bemused at the sight of her children. It was always like this around their house.

Beyond Hiroko was Yuuri's father, Toshiya, whose eyes were glued to some document. Without looking up he casually gave his children a hello before retreating into a different room. Just as usual. Too invested in personal research to really do much else. But his father loved the work, so nobody really complained about it.

"But-! Yuuri totally screwed everything up! Now I'll never have another chance with anyone ever againnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!" Mari flopped down on the uncomfortable floor and whined while Yuuri and his mom tried to ignore her. Yuuri could tell from the addition to the wrinkles on her face that she'd been here listening to Mari like this for quite some time. She was used to it, probably. So was Toshiya. His mother quietly prepared some tea while Yuuri stared at his sister in that state. He'd only been gone two days, and this is what had happened in that time? Sheesh. But nonetheless he still felt bad about being the cause of it. His head hung a bit lower than usual.

The scent of apples and nutmeg filled the room when his mother finished, and Yuuri gazed at the drink in admiration. It hadn't been until just a few years prior that they'd modernized their whole asthetic of living. The world was changing. So obviously they'd need to change with it, regardless of species. Besides, before living like the humans, life was suddenly so much more difficult. Humans have it good.

His mother poured a glass of tea for him, and steam rose up to touch his glasses. Another thing he had to get used to. His eyesight was immediately compromised by anything heat-related nowadays. How annoying. Yuuri wiped his glasses with his shirt, staring up at the whole room with blind eyes. Another annoying thing. Everything was too blurry there without having these odd looking eye-shields. But sometimes, he kind of liked having them. They made him different from everyone else. Usually being different made him feel insecure and stupid. But when he looked at himself in the mirror with them, he felt like they actually really fit his face. They felt nostalgic somehow. Homely. It was weird.

Yuuri took a small sip of the tea while his mother simply watched his sister laying on the floor. He leaned over a bit to whisper in her ear. "Uh... she'll be okay, right?"

Hiroko gave a slight chuckle. Yuuri just stared at her with a bit of concern. "I'm starting to feel really bad and all-" Yuuri's words were halted by his mother. "Oh, don't worry. She'll be okay. She's always been like this, just give her some time." Yuuri sighed a little sigh of relief. He didn't know what to do if he'd inadvertently made his sister a wailing mess on the floor for the rest of her life. But the thought was interuppted when his mother turned her head to her son curiously, a little grin on her face.

"So. Where were you, exactly?" Hiroko's face looked a bit coy.

Yuuri froze. He wasn't about to tell his family he'd just gotten back from erasing the memory of some random human. And that it was all his fault.

Viktor was sitting on the old couch in his house when it happened.

This... weird urge. To leave his house and go to the beach. Sure, he knew he had planned to go back there sometime, but now that he didn't remember anything from a couple of days ago he hadn't left his house since. He was honestly too confused and scared about why he was in that room, of all places. With the door sitting wide open. Too much was happening too fast, and Viktor found himself more confused than terrified. But he was still both.

Viktor had searched his house top to bottom for some evidence to what had occurred, but found absolutely nothing. And all he actually "knew" about that day was that this image of brown eyes kept just... popping up in his head. He didn't know whose they were, obviously. Otherwise he would've bolted over to their house and started screaming or something. But no. Instead he was confined to his house by choice, staring at his phone to try and recover from the small amount of terror in his mind. He didn't tell anyone about it either, although he knew that that was exactly when terrible things happened to people in horror movies. For some reason this felt different.

He felt this feeling everytime he ever got up to do anything. Take a shower, look out the window. It was as if some mysterious force was directing him towards this place. At first he tried to ignore it. But gradually he just got more and more frustrated with himself. Until, of course, he decided to stop this cycle by simply going to the damn place. Might as well get it over with.

As he approached the small cove he'd discovered with his cousin many years prior, he got this odd feeling. The feeling of him somehow being watched. Even as he stepped beyond the snowy beach into the trees he felt it. Even when he was nearly fighting with the overgrown trees to reach the cove he felt it. But even when he looked all around himself to search for someone, nobody was there. He could almost feel himself becoming like his grandfather. Superstitious, always fearful of things that didn't exist. Viktor gave a slight shudder at that thought. He would hate to have a life like that.

And then he reached it. The beach. It was tiny compared to Laskovvy, which was right next door, but... it was special to him as a child.

The only things really seperating his cove and that beach were a jumble of trees and bushes, all crammed together. With every step he took closer to the water left another one of his bootprints in the snow. The proof he'd been there. Standing there before him was the Gulf of Finland in all it's glory, gigantic and colored much like the snow. Pale, dark blue. Almost scary this time of year. So cold that if you were to even step one foot in you'd be sure to get frostbite. It reminded him of something desolate. Alone. But even as he stood on this beach, with the urge to come here gone, he still felt like he was being watched. And now kind of stupid for coming here. Nothing except chilled air and water existed. Except...

The hair on the back of his neck stood up when he noticed it. Something was wrong. Deeply wrong.

Something in his mind clicked, and when he thought about that day forgotten, he was beginning to... remember things, too. Just small flashes of memory. Words spoken. Bits of thought strewn about. He couldn't really even put together anything comprehensive. And his confusion got even stronger when he thought about those eyes, too. What the hell was happening to him?

Before he could piece anything together or even decide to leave Viktor found himself with his eyes widened and his jaw slightly agape. There, sitting on a rock and staring out at the waters was a mermaid. Quiet, still. No wonder he didn't see it sooner. The gasp that escaped Viktor's lips immediately made him cover his mouth as the mermaid quickly flipped his head around, midnight black hair being thrown about his face. Soft, amber eyes stared at him in shock. The same eyes that for some reason had embedded themselves in Viktor's mind.

When the rush of memories hit Viktor, they hit him hard. Suddenly remembering everything that happened on a day you have completely forgotten can change you a bit.

Viktor suddenly knew everything that had happened. Waking up. Seeing this same mermaid. Fainting. And being in that dark space. And now, seeing that mermaid plunge into the freezing water so fast that Viktor barely saw it. His eyes darted around the Gulf, searching for him, but coming up empty. He had run away. Or so Viktor thought, right before he witnessed a dark figure sprinting directly towards him in the water. He wasn't running away. He was chasing him. When Viktor had that thought all he knew was that he had to leave. To ditch this whole situation. And suddenly he very desperately wished that he hadn't remembered anything. He would've rather just lived with the fact that one day of his life was a gaping hole then see this. Just before the creature reached him, however, Viktor was already scrambling away back through the trees, with the knowledge that mermaids exist and so much else that he knew he was probably too deep in it now to ever leave.

He did note one thing, however, as he was pushing past everyone on the sidewalks and stumbling when the key was in the lock:

What a cute thing that mermaid was.

Yuuri must've been staring at the cove for hours before realizing what he was doing. Just... sitting there and basking in his mistake. How dumb. How immature. How silly. He'd been taught all his life to never, ever, under ANY circumstances let a human see him. And now he had not only let one see him but the human now knew something that nobody else knew.

And another mistake: The human remembered everything.

How stupid. How annoying. How... was he going to fix this?

He should've paid more attention. He should've realized that it wasn't his bedroom. He should've closed the door when he left. But he couldn't. He felt pity for that human, regardless of their past with Yuuri's species. His life was... messy. And sad. Full of pride and yet lonliness at the same time. Why, WHY didn't he act as an example? Why didn't he just do it all right? Now he was in such a difficult situation... that of having to track this human down and erase the knowledge from his mind, once again. He hated being near humans. They're interesting, but curious. And they have committed so many atrocities on his kind that he found it difficult to ever think of them in a positive way. But now he was stuck, and the only real solution he could think of right then was to catch him.

"Catch him"... also known as intruding on this human's personal life by becoming close to him and then seizing this perfect opportunity to erase everything about his kind.

And... 'nice idea', Yuuri thought, before some time later realizing that this was quite possibly the worst idea he'd ever had.


	5. Chapter 5

Afterglow: A YOI Story

Chapter 4: Descretion

By the time Yuuri arrived home it was already about 11 pm, and he found it strange that so much time had passed. He knew that he'd seen the human at about 10 am, but after that he couldn't remember what he had really done. He mostly recalled staring at the footprints on the beach as they were quickly covered up by the fresh snow. Yuuri otherwise forgot the rest of it. He was probably just sitting and wallowing in the fact that he would have to go get a goddamn human now. And although Yuuri found them quite interesting, he also possessed a certain annoyance with them now. It wasn't the human's fault he knew mermaids existed. Just Yuuri's. He would have to conduct a quick, effective plan to acquire the information and leave before the human noticed. Unless, of course, he had told a whole bunch of people. If he had then Yuuri honestly didn't know what to do with himself anymore. Maybe he would have run away?

The familiar feel of warmth seemed to emanate from his house, and he stepped in eagerly. After that he immediately stuck his head around the wall seperating the doorway from the rest of the house to see if his sister was going to tackle him again. When he didn't see or hear anything, he slipped on whatever was sitting in the doorway and tried not to be too loud. Was everyone asleep or something? Where were they?

Yuuri ducked through the foyer into the sitting area, where, once again, it was consistently a huge mess. He swore that nothing in that house would ever be clean. Yuuri sighed heavily, his glasses falling down to the tip of his nose. No noises were coming from anywhere. Not even the sounds of Toshiya scribbling something furiously in his study. But as he strolled into what the humans called a "kitchen", he saw the remains of what seemed to be a recipe sitting on the counter. Yuuri squinted, pushing his glasses up and trying to read it. Instead he found that he couldn't because it was in Russian. But why would someone in this house have a Russian recipe laying on the counter? Yuuri could really only read a few words of the language, but before he tried to decipher it with his limited ablities he heard the loudest crash possibly ever come from within the study.

Yuuri flinched, slowly but surely turning his head left to the doorway into the study. He knew what happened in horror movies. You're supposed to exit the house immediately and move. But Yuuri moved to the cause of the sound before he could really think, peeking his head into the door. And sitting on the floor in heap of stuff was his mother Hiroko, laughing silently to herself. It was this sight that made Yuuri question if his mother had gone insane at this very moment. He stared straight at her for a moment before opening the door all the way. "Ehh... What happened?" Yuuri asked her.

Hiroko flipped her head around at the noise, obviously startled. Had she not already noticed him?

She didn't say anything just yet, but simply lifted herself off the floor and sighed contentedly. Then she leaned down to the ground and picked up the various objects strewn about. What, no explanation?

Hiroko was placing the fallen things back on the shelves lining the walls when she spoke. "I'm embarrassed, Yuuri. I really didn't think you'd be home yet..." Yuuri simply raised an eyebrow before realizing how odd he was acting. Usually, if he saw his mother lying on the floor he would've gone to help, all flushed and confused. But at the moment he was still pretty mad at himself for letting the human get away. He probably would be for quite some time now. But the fact that it made him different scared Yuuri a little bit. That was why he knew he had to fix it. Although, the way he was acting now, completely oblivious to everything and acting funny, he sort of liked for some reason. Maybe his new encounter had made him stronger?

Realizing his difference, Yuuri scrambled to help his mother. He tried to shuffle the fallen objects back to where they were, but to no avail. It was his father's study, so the small room was surrounded by bookshelves filled to the brim with learning and quills and old bottles of stuff and some chairs. Absolute chaos. But the exact embodiment of his father. As Yuuri placed the things back he noticed that some of the objects had gone... missing? At the sight of it Yuuri stiffened. "Mom, ehh... are you alright?"

Hiroko looked up at him with a gentle nod. "Sorry. I was just a bit startled. I accidentally knocked everything over..." Hiroko gave a nervous smile. Odd. If she did something like this she would either be frustrated or simply laughing. Whatever. Things were going wrong all over the place nowadays.

Without saying much else Hiroko walked past her son in the doorway and waltzed straight to her room. What...? Yuuri sighed. Even though the way his mother was acting was weird to him, Yuuri really had to focus on getting the human. If he didn't, it could mean something absolutely shameful and terrible for his kind. That prospect didn't make Yuuri too happy, honestly. So, staring at her door one last time and being confused, Yuuri finally shuffled into his room.

His family often found it odd how his room was pretty clean compared to their own. It only had one bookshelf compared to Toshiya's eight, had a dignified number of shelves, and not 20 million of them. In the corner was what humans called a "bed". How odd. Couldn't they just sleep on the floor? When he got on that thing, it was comfortable. But it felt so weird at the same time. He didn't really need to sleep like that. He could really just fall asleep anywhere if he thought about how boring his father's history talks were. He only really found the modern lives of humans interesting, not the past. If something already happened, then what was the point of looking back at it, much less droning on and on about it? Yuuri sighed for probably the 50th time as he sat down on the edge of the "bed".

His eyes wagered between sleep or not. It was pretty dark outside. And his mother wasn't making any noises. His father was undoubtedly out stalking some random human on the small cove, and his sister must've been bothering some little kids. Yuuri gave a slight smile at that, but couldn't really muster a full one. His worries must've been resurfacing somehow. Like, what if he got caught? Caught touching or speaking or even acknowledging a human? What would happen? What kind of shame would be bring to his family then?

Yuuri groaned involuntarily at the thought of that. Torture.

But something, at the same time, tugged at Yuuri's heart. Maybe determination? He REALLY would rather not be mocked or punished by anyone, and he sure as hell wasn't gonna let that happen. And once again, at that thought, Yuuri could feel the change in his personality.

Things were getting too complicated...

Yuuri was flopped down on the "bed" when his father came home. He estimated that it was about midnight. Pretty late for a full day of stalking random people.

He had been busy reading one of the several history books in his room whenever he heard his father say he was home. Even though he still found history slightly annoying, it was perfect to keep him from having a full-on panic attack from worry. He was starting to get so confused and frustrated with himself he couldn't even read anymore, the words all blurring together in one odd motion. He shut it before it could get any worse.

His father, Toshiya, was strolling around their house, obviously carrying a large array of something. He could tell by the slight shuffling of feet and groaning. At that Yuuri bolted up from his "bed" to help his father before he collapsed or something.

Yuuri peeked his head around the corner in slight concern only to see his father wasn't holding anything except his research notebook. Either way he rushed over to him still questioning his long absence.

Toshiya smiled when he saw his son, but it was a tired one. He'd probably been out all day, like Yuuri had been while yelling at himself in frustration. The grin he gave seemed a bit... pained. "Dad... are you okay?" Yuuri gave his father a concerned stare, to which his father didn't respond. Like his mom.

All his dad did was casually stroll over to his study, put his materials back in his office and then bolt inside of his bedroom, where Hiroko was. Yuuri had tried to follow but was cut off by the door being shut in his face. Yuuri frowned unhappily. What, exactly, was going on?

But instead of trying to figure out anything anytime soon, Yuuri sighed and went back to his room. On the "bed". And he stayed there with no ideas in his head on how to fix everything. And, he was also pretty confused on what his parents were up to, but didn't want to say anything about it. He might bother them. But as he sat on the "bed" worrying, he heard his sister come home too, immediately rushing into her room. Well at least he had one typical thing from his sister. She didn't really enjoy talking to people except her family and Sara. And speaking of Sara, Yuuri still seriously didn't know what had become of the two of them. Mari hadn't talked about it. Nobody asked, either. Yuuri felt guilty about being the cause of all this.

But it his confusion changed when he heard his father's voice cut through the walls. It was very soft. Unlike him. And he was speaking to his wife. At this Yuuri immediately pushed his head towards the wall, curious. They were acting funny.

He listened while Toshiya was in the middle of a sentence. "-it does not make any sense..." A soft reply from his mom. Then Toshiya again. "We need to be care-" Hiroko interuppted him with something. Yuuri knew that no matter how hard he strained he wouldn't be able to hear her. Her voice was simply too soft. His father sighed suddenly. "Yes yes, I know... but we really should report this. I mean-" The voices stopped completely. He heard his mother shush her husband, then speak. "We'll talk about this tomorrow. Don't worry." Then a sigh from Toshiya and them turning over in their "bed". They had stopped.

What exactly had happened today? Apparently it was serious enough for them to not even tell their own children. Yuuri leaned back away from the wall.

Something was going on.

After the mysterious talking-through-walls debacle that happened last night, Yuuri was getting kind of suspicious. They acted like nothing had happened at all. Maybe they should've been more careful about where they spoke about it?

Either way, Yuuri tried not to think too much about it. He obviously had different things to worry about. Like, say, solving everything before he would inevitably break down in tears and frustration. Which would happen. So as he watched his father leave for the day, he was suddenly struck with some inspiration.

His family was raised to be intellectuals. To be observing and intelligent. And most of all, serve their kind with knowledge of modern-day humans so nothing terrible happened to them. But looking at his father, who was a perfect example of just that, made Yuuri wonder what kinds of things he could do with knowledge of the human he was trying to get. Knowledge was in their blood, along with the powers of the mind.

Ever since Yuuri was a small child he'd been told about how the Katsuki's were known for their abilities. Respected, almost feared. But it wasn't until Yuuri was about eight years of age that he found he could not only read others' minds but also erase.

It was upsetting to him.

He didn't want to read people's minds. He really didn't want to erase. That meant hurting others. And he hated the thought of that. But sometime he knew he would have to eventually use them, otherwise... well, it wouldn't have a great outcome. So he managed to avoid using them too much throughout his childhood.

He didn't want to hurt others. Because hurting other people meant he would also get hurt behind them. And most of all, he would hurt himself. It was the same with Mari. They were surprisingly alike. But at the same time, incredibly different. She had developed something Yuuri wanted but at the same time really didn't want. Mixed emotions.

Mari had groaned when she learned she had telekinesis. She made it sound like some sort of disease, being able to move objects around with her mind. But she definitely wasn't bullied by other kids her age. She was only 11. Not a good time to get one. Other kids around her could only do small things, like swim faster or probably boast about themselves more efficiently. On Mari's side, though, she was kind of right to be annoyed by it. It meant people would ask her to do the stupidest things in her opinion.

Like whenever Toshiya decided on human-izing the house up. Mari wanted to help, but at the same time she was also being forced to install human objects and a heating system into their house, so she really wasn't very pleased with it. Although the end result she was pleased with, she had to spend months basically trapped in a weird place with only an instruction manual and a ton of materials. So she was inclined to not like having telekinesis in the first place.

Yuuri, on the other hand...

He wished he could do that instead of knowing people's thoughts. Every time he entered a room he would immediately push into someone's mind and read it involuntarily. Which made him shriek and run away. Sometimes there are thoughts you REALLY don't need to hear...

His father waltzed out the door without a second thought that morning, not knowing that his son was basically aspiring to be him. Aspiring to be what Toshiya was doing, which was learning information about humans.

And that was when Yuuri knew that he was going to essentially start stalking his human.

Which, of course, was a TERRIBLE IDEA.

There was only one problem, though: Yuuri was absolutely horrified at the prospect of having to go outside with a million humans and find only one. But he accepted the challenge. He would not be humiliated and embarrassed for the rest of his life, and if this was what he had to do to stop that from happening, he would do it.

But then again, it was a TERRIBLE IDEA.

Viktor spent most of his time nowadays distracting himself. Whether it be his phone or cleaning his house or talking to someone, he always had something to do. Anything to get away from the memory of that mermaid chasing his ass.

He knew when the mermaid started chasing him that he had stepped into something bad. A situation or a person that should definitely not be touched. And he honestly had no idea what to do now. Probably because one does not expect to meet a mermaid on a beach after passing out and then get chased by him. His mind was constantly flustered, and he often found his thoughts drifting back to that beach. No, no, no. The more he thought about it the more he got curious, and that really sounded like a bad thing. The last time he got curious it turned the absolute other way for him, so now he stayed as far back from it as he could.

So instead of getting curious, he spent time conversing with either his old friend Christophe Giaccometti or a new up-and-coming skater named Phichit Chulanont. He found that both of them were pretty big talkers-Phichit especially. At every chance he got he would send Viktor a picture of anything he was doing or anyone he was speaking to. Huge distraction. And for that, Viktor was grateful. Chris, on the other hand, mostly spoke about how every time he practiced skating he would either get really drunk beforehand or come on the ice. Typical. And another huge distraction.

But in those moments where they were not available for a casual chat or sleeping, something ached deeply inside of Viktor's heart. He knew that what he was doing wasn't healthy. He was avoiding something that actually happened, and shoving it away. It reminded him of the several times he did just that in that past. But now, he was an adult. He had to face things head-on, not distract himself.

So one day he finally mustered enough courage to walk the streets of St. Petersburg again. He didn't expect anything except a break from everything bad he was doing to himself. But instead, he started noticing... weird things.

"Weird things"... like how with every step he took, another person would take it with him. And when he turned his head around in confusion, they quickly and quietly slipped away before Viktor could get a good look. All he saw was a flash of black, and then every other person on the streets. He definitely thought it was suspicious, but didn't decide to investigate it. It could be nothing, after all. After his strange encounter with a mermaid he found himself being a lot more jumpy. Which... is granted. You're inclined to be jumpy. But Viktor grew increasingly jumpy when he found that this... figure was following him wherever he went. He'd had weirdoes follow him before. But this one seemed different somehow.

They were fast.

Too fast for a human being to be. When Viktor turned his head even the slightest, they would hide behind a corner immediately, only peeking a part of their head out. What the hell? Even when he tried to lose them by bolting down the street or rushing into some random shop, they were right behind him. And his little experiments with them only ended with him knowing someone was truly following him. They were discreet, obviously, just not discreet enough for Viktor to not notice them.

As he walked home that day after a full day of feeling incredibly creeped out Viktor couldn't help but sigh heavily. Great. Another problem to deal with. He added the incidents of the day to his mental checklist of things to get a grip of. Too much was happening, too fast. But as he was walking home, he saw that the person wasn't following him anymore. They were gone. To that Viktor inhaled sharply, slightly relieved. Thank god they wouldn't be following him all the way home. But what had made them stop before his house, anyways?

Viktor also noticed something else:

Anytime Viktor would turn to face this mystery person they would always hide, sure... but there was a way that they hid that caught his eyes. Their legs were shaking. Terrified. But of what? Viktor didn't intend to hurt anyone. Maybe they didn't know that?

Whatever their reasons for following Viktor, they were scared. Badly.


End file.
